The present invention relates to shopping carts, and more particularly relates to shopping carts with floating baskets that are movable in response to downward and/or lateral forces.
Various types of shopping carts are used in grocery stores, department stores, home improvement stores and the like. A disadvantage of conventional shopping carts is their tendency to tip over, for example, when a child riding in the cart leans out of the cart, or when the cart is loaded with a large number of items and becomes top-heavy.
A particular problem with conventional shopping carts is child safety. Although many shopping cart designs include safety belts, the belts are often broken or missing. Furthermore, even when in operating order, such safety belts are not consistently used. As a result, children are often free to lean or climb out of the child seat.
Some shopping cart designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,958,537, 3,095,211, 3,356,185, 3,500,965, 4,840,388, 4,976,447, 5,288,089, 5,325,938 and 5,390,942.
A need exists for a shopping cart which resists tipping and which provides increased safety for a child riding in the cart. The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing, and to address other deficiencies of the prior art.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a shopping cart including a frame, a basket mounted on the frame, and biasing means for allowing at least a portion of the basket to move in relation to the frame when a force is applied to the basket.
This and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.